What to Wear for the IELTS Exam

There is no dress code for the IELTS exam; therefore you may wear anything you wish to wear to the IELTS exam as long as you are not naked or breaking any local laws.  Not having a dress code may let you wear anything you want; it doesn’t mean that you should just wear anything that pops into your head that morning.

There are a few things that you could consider first when deciding what to wear:

·         The weather – consider what the weather is like. If it’s scorching hot, wearing a coat or blazer may look nice but you may not be comfortable during your exam or your interview.  Additional stress from the temperature will not help you concentrate.

·         The location of the exam – the temperature outside may be hot, that doesn’t mean you should be wearing a tank top; the venue might be in a hotel with more than enough air-conditioning to make you shiver if you were wearing less clothing.

·         Which part of the exam – for the written parts of the IELTS exam (which is done consecutively on the same day), I would recommend focusing on wearing something for comfort. You will be spending almost 3 hours on the written sub-tests of the IELTS, wearing something that makes you uneasy or uncomfortable will just add to your stress or bug you during the exam. It is even better if you bring an extra layer just in case you feel a bit cold in the middle of the exam. For the IELTS Speaking sub-test; since the speaking test is a formal interview, I would recommend smart casual. Something that you would wear to a job interview will usually be good enough for the speaking test.

For other basic IELTS tips please check the Basic Tips Category